Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia Benson has been a stellar mom to her adopted son, but many fans are wondering the same question: who is Noah’s father?
Law And Order: SVU ‘ Olivia Benson and Noah
Olivia and Noah Benson’s Adoption Journey In SVU
Noah Porter-Benson’s Biological Father Sets Up Complications
How Noah’s Story Has Evolved Throughout Law & Order: SVU
SUMMARY
Olivia Benson has experienced a lot of loss throughout Law & Order: SVU , but one event changed her life forever: her adoption of Noah Porter.
Noah Porter is introduced in Season 15 of SVU after the Special Victims Unit finds the baby abandoned in a motel room.
Because of the commonalities between Olivia and Noah’s backstories, they form a natural connection that perseveres in the face of adversity.
Throughout the twenty-five years of Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson has experienced a lot of changes. From losing her longtime detective partner, Elliot Stabler, after spending twelve years together to rising through the NYPD’s ranks, she’s evolved time and again. However, arguably her most momentous life change was adopting her son, Noah Porter-Benson.
Benson has always displayed a maternal instinct. From staying on the phone with Maria when no one else believed the trafficked girl’s call was genuine in the iconic Law & Order: SVU Season 7, Episode 3, “911” to her bond with Calvin Arliss, the son of a drug addict she came close to adopting in Season 12, Benson has always shown she’d be an excellent mother. So when she finally had the chance to adopt a baby in need, Noah, she was thrilled. Unfortunately, in true SVU fashion, Noah’s backstory is a little dark.
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In many episodes of Law & Order: SVU, Benson’s work brings her closer to the victims of the crime that she’s investigating. In the fourteenth episode of Season 15, this trend continues when Sergeant Benson and Detective Amanda Rollins are assigned a brand-new case. While the duo is in the midst of tracking down the members of a child pornography ring, they find a baby boy abandoned in a hotel room. With no one coming forward to claim the child, who is initially referred to as “Baby Boy Doe,” he is placed into foster care. Unfortunately, after an illness overwhelms his foster parents, the baby is quickly removed and bounced between multiple foster homes.
After the baby is placed back in the foster care system for the final time, his identity is finally discovered. Thanks to Benson and the Special Victims Unit’s hard work, they find that the boy’s name is Noah Porter and that his biological mother was named Ellie. At the time, Ellie was in recovery and trying hard to stay sober as she worked through the trauma of being sex trafficked. Ultimately, she sets her mind to regaining custody of Noah and even prepares to testify against her former trafficker; however, she struggles to stay sober.
One fateful night, Ellie Porter sneaks out of her halfway house to use hard drugs again, at which point she is assaulted by several assailants. After being assaulted, Ellie is tragically immolated, once again leaving Noah without a family. Through all of this, Benson stays up to date with Noah’s whereabouts and does whatever she can to spend time with him. The presiding judge in Noah’s case took note of Benson’s ongoing interest in and care for baby Noah and made the decision to grant Olivia Benson temporary custody of Noah as the detective worked on apprehending Ellie’s killers. She mandates that after a year, Benson could formally adopt Noah.
Noah Porter-Benson’s Biological Father Sets Up Complications
cbr – svu olivia benson holds young noah
Key Noah Porter-Benson Episodes
Season, Episode
“Wednesday’s Child”
Season 15, Episode 14
“Downloaded Child”
Season 15, Episode 19
“Spring Awakening”
Season 15, Episode 24
“Holden’s Manifesto”
Season 16, Episode 4
“Undercover Mother”
Season 16, Episode 15
“Surrendering Noah”
Season 16, Episode 23
“Intent”
Season 19, Episode 8
“Gone Baby Gone”
Season 19, Episode 9
“Burning With Rage Forever”
Season 23, Episode 11
“And A Trauma In A Pear Tree”
Season 24, Episode 9
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As the SVU squad continues to investigate Ellie’s assault, they learn more about Noah’s history too. Eventually, Law & Order: SVU reveals that Noah’s father is convicted rapist Johnny Drake: a violent criminal the detectives had been tracking for many episodes. He assaulted Ellie, impregnated her, and sold her off to a different criminal, which is why Ellie never even knew who the baby’s true father was.
After Johnny Drake is captured and begins his trial, he learns that Noah is his son and that parental rights could impact and lessen his sentence. He initiates a legal battle to regain custody of the child, but in Season 16 of SVU, he ultimately succumbs to the chaos of the courtroom and takes an officer hostage, resulting in Detective Nick Amaro shooting and killing him.
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With the death of Johnny, Benson is finally free to have full legal custody of Noah. In the ensuing years, Benson never wavers in her protection of her son. Not only is their parent and child journey intense on its own, but it also has special symbolic significance. Olivia Benson’s own father was a violent criminal, and like Noah, she was also the product of her mother’s rape. However, also like her, his backstory will not define his future.
Unfortunately, the familial worries don’t stop with the death of Johnny Drake. When Noah’s grandmother, Shelia Porter (played by Brooke Shields) comes onto the scene, things escalate. After first attempting to contest Olivia Benson’s custody, she then turns up the heat, abducting Noah from a department store in Season 19, Episode 9, “Gone Baby Gone.” Though he is eventually found and returned to Benson, the ordeal is traumatizing to Noah and leaves him with more questions and uncertainties about his biological family.
How Noah’s Story Has Evolved Throughout Law & Order: SVUcbr – svu olivia and noah benson walk home
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Introducing Noah into Benson’s life has made a clear difference on both her character and the trajectory of Law & Order: SVU. With a job so isolating and dangerous, she often feels like she is alone, but luckily for her, Noah gives her a sense of family and community once again. He’s also added a lot of dimension to storylines over the years, with writers even pulling from the real life of Noah’s actor, Ryan Buggle. When Noah comes out as bisexual to Benson in Season 23, Episode 11, “Burning With Rage Forever,” it not only adds an important element of diversity to the story, but gives Benson a chance to be there for her son.
Noah’s family continues to expand, too, as he uses an ancestry site to learn about his half-brother, another baby that Johnny D. unknowingly fathered. In Season 24, Episode 9, “And A Trauma In A Pear Tree,” Noah finally gets to meet that half-brother, instantly increasing Benson’s world as well. Though she is initially on her guard, she learns to welcome a growing community and connection through her son. More recently, Benson had to face one of her biggest challenges as Noah’s adopted mom: him learning the truth about his father. In Season 25, Episode 9, “Children of Wolves,” Noah catches his mom off guard following a bedtime story. After Googling his mom and reading about some of his more high-profile cases, he recognizes the name “Johnny D.” from snooping around some of Benson’s files.
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Benson is taken aback and a bit upset when Noah discovers the true identity of his parents. She had hoped to choose the time and place to reveal the truth about Noah’s villainous father, but she is now forced to answer some blunt questions rather quickly. Understandably, Noah is not thrilled to have learned that his dad was a violent criminal. However, Benson doesn’t focus as much on the dark details, choosing instead to emphasize how the stars aligned for her and Noah to find each other. Noah’s biological father may have been cruel, but his adoptive mother will always protect him.
In the end, SVU hones in on its found family trope rather well. The SVU squad spends more time with each other than their own families, resulting in close bonds. Benson’s relationship with Stabler always skirted a deep line, with their own romantic future still a possibility. And though Noah had a dark start to life and lacks a biological family, the family he has in Benson, his half-brother, and others is all that matters.
